時尚雙語:伊斯蘭芭比娃娃熱銷

Move over(1) Barbie, veiled is beautiful. The physical ideal of Muslim girls increasingly includes the hijab(2), as evidenced by toy shops' best-selling doll "Fulla" and the string of showbiz(3) stars opting(4) to cover up.

The dark-eyed and olive-skinned(5) Fulla has replaced her American rival's skimpy(6) skirts with more modest "outdoor fashion" and Barbie's luxuriant(7) blonde mane(8) with an Islamic veil.

"Fulla sells better because it is closer to our Arab values: she never reveals a leg or an arm," says Tarek Mohammed, chief salesman at a Toys R Us branch in Mohandessin.

The Arab answer to Barbie has been selling like hot cakes for Eid Al-Adha(9), not least because it is cheaper than its American rival, although both are made in China.

Fulla is not the first Islamic doll but none of her predecessors(10) have taken the regional market by storm like she has, selling some two million since its creation two years ago by the Emirates-based NewBoy Design Studio.

Saudi Arabia's religious police had then just banned "Barbie the Jewish doll", whose "revealing clothes and shameful postures, accessories and tools are a symbol of decadence(11) to the perverted(12) West."

Fulla, named after an Arabic word for a type of jasmine(13), was initially sold in the Gulf in a similar pink box but in more modest attire(14), such as the traditional abaya(15) overdress and complete with a little prayer mat.

"Her wardrobe(16) had to be widened to adapt to the Egyptian market. In other words, she became more modern," said Ahmed, a sales clerk at City Stars, Cairo's largest shopping mall.

Fulla can now dress her perfect albeit slightly less busty(17) figure with tight t-shirts and jeans and wear the same colourful head scarves donned by most young Egyptian women today.

Fulla also has two female friends, Yasmine and Nada, with lighter hair.

But she is still single as no plans appear to be afoot for(18) marketing an Islamic equivalent of Ken, as giving her a boyfriend would be seen inappropriate in conservative Muslim cultures.

芭比靠邊站，穿着保守纔是美。 穆斯林女孩的完美裝束一定要有一條伊斯蘭頭巾，不信的話可以看看玩具店中暢銷的“芙拉”娃娃和成串穿着嚴實的娛樂秀明星們。

黑眼睛、橄欖色皮膚、穿着端莊“戶外裝”、披着伊斯蘭罩袍的芙拉已經完全擊敗了身穿超短裙、頂着一頭金髮的美國對手。

Toys R Us穆罕黛森分店的主管塔萊克·穆罕默德說：“芙拉賣得好是因爲她更符合我們阿拉伯人的審美：她從不露出腿或者胳膊。”

芙拉在阿拉伯的熱銷就像宰牲節的熱蛋糕，不僅是因爲她比她的美國對手要便宜，雖然她們都產自中國。

芙拉並非第一個伊斯蘭娃娃，但卻是第一個如此轟動當地市場的伊斯蘭娃娃。自從兩年前由阿酋新男孩設計室設計出來後到現在，銷量大約已經有二百萬了。

沙特阿拉伯的宗教警察當時封殺了“猶太巴比娃娃”，說它那“暴露的衣服、丟臉的姿勢、裝飾物和小零件是邪惡西方墮落的象徵。”

芙拉是阿拉伯語，是一種茉莉的名字。芙拉最初在海灣地區出售，包裝是和現在相似的粉色盒子，娃娃的衣服更加保守，例如傳統的阿拉伯長袍，還附贈一條祈禱跪毯。

開羅最大商場都市之星的銷售人員說：“爲了適應埃及市場，娃娃的衣櫃也必須拓寬。”

現在，芙拉可以穿着端莊了，只是當她穿上緊身體恤和牛仔褲時顯得沒有那麼豐滿。她還可以戴上當今多數埃及年輕女子喜歡的彩色頭巾。

芙拉還有兩個女伴，雅斯敏和娜達，她們的髮色稍淺。

但是她仍然單身，並沒有計劃推出伊斯蘭版的肯，因爲擁有男朋友在保守的穆斯林文化中還是很不妥的。